Monday, November 28, 2005

And on a Monday, too. Lots of icy spots along the paths, though it isn't slowing anyone down much. There is still quite a crowd of runners out during the noon hour. I met Byron at the Y and we headed west to Crowchild and back. Struggled a little with some tightness in the calves and shins during the first half. I wonder if I need to pay a little more attention to stretching.

Today's run:Distance: 7.94 km. Time: 44:46. Average speed: 10.6 kph.

Weather: Cloudy and -4. Not too much wind; a very nice day for running.

Friday, November 25, 2005

Took the day off to prepare for my weekend, so I figured I would do a bit of a distance run. Down 10th Street, across the river and over to Eau Claire to meet Byron, and we did the short zoo run, and then after went homeward via The Path Under The Stairs and 4th Street.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

On my own to start, as everyone was tied up. Was out running the "short zoo" route, and just as I was coming up to the foot bridge at the west end of the island it's on, and I met Byron and a friend going the other way, so I joined them and retraced my steps.

Another beautiful day, which got just about everyone outside at lunch time. That paths were busy but not crowded, and if it wasn't for the bare trees you could almost convince yourself it was still summer.

Today's run:Distance: 8.00 km. Time: 45:57. Average speed: 10.4 kph.

Weather: Partly cloudy and 12C, but it seems a lot warmer. They promise a couple more days like this and then snow *sigh*

Sunday, November 20, 2005

I was to meet a couple of guys this morning for the distance run, but at the designated time, there was only Byron, so off we went. Taking the promenade west to Crowchild and across the river, and that's were Mike caught up to us. Actually he was going the other way, hoping to run into us, so that worked. Made for a nice run to be with a group.

And for the first time in a while, I found that grove, where there is no pressure and everything is working perfectly, and it's almost effortless and I feel like I could go all day. I don't think I've been in that place since early spring.

About the half way point, Mike dropped out as his knee has been giving him trouble. We continued to the zoo and crossed the river at the 12th Street bridge, then back toward Eau Claire. And because I was in that zone, it just flew by and we were done before I knew it. We met up with Mike again and found a place for brunch. Perfect!

Friday, November 18, 2005

Man, did the wind ever pick up! On my way to meet the gang, I found one spot in front of the building across the street where I was almost running backwards. Once I got past that, I looked up to see a lot of people smiling about it, at least those that weren't fighting to keep from being blown away.

Just Byron and me today. I think the wind had an effect, as we were over 30 minutes on the loop to 14th Street. I also have a bit of a headache from having to crank the hat on so tightly. But a good run, and the tailwind on the return was cool.

Today's run:Distance: 5.56 km. Time: 31:11. Average speed: 10.7 kph.

Weather: Partly cloudy and 8C, and the winds north at 48 kph, gusting to 67 kph. Betcha they were even stronger, after getting funneled through the streets downtown. Yikes!

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Getting so we just meet at the Y and see who shows up. Me and Mike today. We went east, to the foot bridge to the zoo, then back along Memorial Drive to the suspension bridge to Prince's Island. That's actually a very good distance for a noon hour run.

Today's run:Distance: 6.66 km. Time: 38:15. Average speed: 10.4 kph.

Weather: Cloudy and 7C. I was wondering if I was a little underdressed, being in shorts and tee, but after 10 minutes I was fine.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Everyone else is tied up today, so I was solo. Great run, though - Sien Lok to 14th and back. It's a little colder today, I think, but the wind is gone, so it's actually a lot nicer than yesterday. A few more people out running today. Must be a few fair-weather runners in the downtown area.

Today I started out slow, as I intended, but as usual, after 25 minutes I was going pretty hard. I think it's that I'm warm, and loose, and the end point is just over there.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Well, sort of. There were a few wispy bits of snow blowing down the street when I walked in this morning. And it was blowing. The weather people promised the wind would abate by late morning, but I think they lied to us again.

Anyway, met a friend at the Eau Claire Y, and we were off. We headed west into the wind so it took awhile to feel warmed up. And then we crossed the river at 14th Street and headed back. Good pace, though, and a good run.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

But not all that much cooler. I wore my windbreaker for the first time since maybe April, with a light sweatshirt and tech t-shirt under, and that was about right. Gloves were required for the first half hour, but after that I was nicely warmed.

Must have been a rough Saturday night for someone. There's a little S-curve on 10th Street, that begins just under the C-Train overpass and ends right about the intersection with 13th Avenue. (That's if you're going north.) The curve goes right, then left, and the left turning part is deceptively tight. Even at the speed limit, you feel a bit of side pull. But somebody was going way past that and managed to shear off half the guard rail that protects the adjacent sidewalk. Quite a mess left, though no sign of the vehicle (or vehicles) that did it.

Once across the river I headed west as usual, planning to go all the way to Edworthy park again, then back on the other side of the river. And very quickly I passed a kilometre marker. And a couple of ladies that I caught up to had race numbers pinned to their windbreakers. It was the Last Chance Half. They crossed at Crowchild, while I continued on.

After that it was steady running, feeling quite good, even on the icy parts along the path under Spruce Cliff. And so many people were out. Lots of runners, and very few with the race bibs, but then I was off that race route for most of my time out there. Wonderful day for a run.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Pretty quiet downtown today, what with the rest of the country getting the day off. We did observe the two minutes of silence at 11:00 am, but otherwise it's a normal work day.

So out for a solo run at noon. From Sein Lok Park to Crowchild and back. There were a few people out running, not many. Even fewer cyclist. There were lots of couples out strolling though, cuz it's pretty darn nice out for mid-November.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Not all that cool, I guess, though the wind did bite once in a while. A friend and I did the short zoo run, which is to head east along the river, and cross at the foot bridge to the island the zoo is on, then back along the north side of the river to the suspension foot bridge at Prince's Island.

GPS still didn't get a lock until we had a kilometre or so under us, but it got more of the run than last time.

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Last time for these shoes. About the time I was crossing the Centre Street bridge, they clicked over 850 km, which is about the limit for a running shoe, so now they'll go into the recycle bag. I still have another pair, but at just under 500 km, I'll need another set soon.

Today I went down 10th Street and across the river, then west to Edworthy, then back to Centre Street and up Nony's Awful Little Hill, to 4th STreet and home. Nice light snowfall, that for some reason balled up under my left heel, and every few paces I had to scuff it off. Most annoying. Along the south side of the river, too, were places were an earlier snowfall had melted, and the new snow covered the ice. Not too bad, but occasionally treacherous.

Weather: -2C and light snow, and no change in that over the full two hours. Well, in the middle it stopped snowing for a bit, and a little blue sky showed through. But it didn't last. Good run, lots of people out, and good fun.

Friday, November 04, 2005

Finally got together some of these guys I hang out with and did a run together. We've been talking about it for awhile, but never seemed to be able to all get together before. The four of us started from the Eau Claire Y and headed down to Crowchild and back on the other side of the river, cross to our starting point at Prince's Island.

Today's run:Distance: 7.51 km. Time: 41:36. Average speed: 10.8 kph.

Weather: Cloudy and 5C. Not a lot different from the rest of the week, but the wind is out there, and the cloud is thick, so it certainly felt colder. I remembered the GPS this time, but it took forever to lock on the signals, so I could probably add another kilometre to the total.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Gorgeous day out there, sunny and no wind to speak of. Most of the snow and ice from last night is melting quickly, but there are a few shaded spots that are a little treacherous. Anyway, I was way overdressed for running, with the sweatshirt and long pants.

Did the usual run from Sien Lok Park to 14th Street and back. Forgot my GPS though so I'll guess reuse some numbers from earlier runs.

Today's run:Distance: 5.30 km. Time: 28:00. Average speed: 11.3 kph.

Weather: Sunny and 2C. Beautiful day, and a lot of other people thought it was a good day to run, too.